Why I Started Optima Mindset Coaching: Helping Teens Build Confidence, Resilience & Growth

Progress isn’t always visible, but the climb matters. Confidence and resilience come from doing hard things.

For over 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching youth athletes. And while I love competition, what I love even more is watching kids grow, seeing them surprise themselves, step into their potential, and do something they once thought was out of reach. It’s the kid who finally scores that first goal after a season of near misses. It’s the girl who didn’t make the team one year but comes back determined, puts in the work, and becomes the leading scorer the next.

Those moments, that growth, is what kept me coming back year after year.

Over time, I began to notice a pattern: it’s in those moments of uncertainty that an unshakeable mindset can lift an average athlete to achieve the extraordinary. And just as often, I’ve seen talented athletes fall short, not because of skill, but because their mindset wasn’t aligned with their potential.

That’s why I started Optima Mindset Coaching. Not just to help kids perform better, but to help them think better, feel stronger, and become more resilient when life (or the game) doesn’t go their way.

Optima exists to help teens and young adults build an unshakeable mindset, so they can show up with confidence, navigate challenges with perspective, and grow into the people they’re meant to be.

Part of what drives this mission is my own story. I went through much of my early life with a defeatist attitude. I lacked confidence, not because I didn’t care or didn’t try, but because I was afraid to fail. That fear held me back in school, in sports, and in believing in what I was capable of. I also saw how easily a parent, coach, or teacher, often unintentionally, could chip away at a kid’s belief in themselves.

That’s what initially drew me to coaching. I wanted to be someone who built kids up instead of breaking them down. Someone who helped others feel seen, supported, and capable. And now that I’ve stepped away from the sidelines, I’m continuing that mission through

Even our biggest goals can be undone by quiet doubt. What we believe about ourselves shapes what’s possible tomorrow.

mindset coaching, hoping to empower the next generation with the tools I wish I had at their age.

So how do you know if it’s mindset holding someone you care about back? Here are five signs that they may benefit from mindset coaching:

5 Signs Your Teen Might Benefit From Mindset Coaching

1. Negative Self-Talk: Constantly claiming they’re not good enough. Or perhaps you hear things like “I’m awful,” or, “I suck.” At first this may be a defense mechanism, but eventually it becomes self fulfilling. 

2. Avoiding Challenges/Playing Small: They shy away from opportunities, leadership, or stepping out of their comfort zone.

3. Fear of Failure: Even the highest achievers can feel paralyzed by the thought of letting someone (coach/parent/teammate) down. Let alone looking “silly” in front of others.

4. Perfectionism/Overthinking: They tend to set unrealistically high expectations for themselves, and struggle to be satisfied, even when they succeed.

5. They’re Carrying Quiet Pressure: They don’t always show it, but it’s there, academic stress, athletic expectations, social comparisons, and they don’t know how to move through it.

What Teens Really Need:

The reality is, our kids don’t need added pressure. They need better tools. 

At optima, I use one-on-one and small group coaching, and team workshops to help them build those tools, and in turn, help them develop Confidence, Resilience, Growth.

If any of this resonates with you, or a young person in your life, I’d love to connect.

Let’s connect and build something UNSHAKEABLE.

Visit: www.optimamindsetcoaching.com